Movies that REALLY stand the test of time.
 

REAL classics. Movies that are great even decades after being produced.

Partial list:
Tron (watching it now and the inspiration for this thread :D)
The Sound of Music
Rocky
Casablanca
Gone with the Wind

North by Northwest and 2001 come to mind

Strangelove
Raging Bull
GWTW

The Sum of All Fears has held up pretty well.

:lol:

Casablanca
North by Northwest
Godfather 1 & 2
Star Wars

forgot my all-time favorite: Notorious

Love it or hate it I would say 2001

Psycho.

Tron? Are you kidding me?

Tron? Rocky?!?!?! Definitely can't agree with those (although they're still very good films). I thought special effects films were the worst at standing the test of time.

On the other hand, films like The Evil Dead will prevail because they never looked phenomenal in the first place and a large part of their appeal is in the cult value.

Also, The Godfather will surely remain an audience favorite, as will films like Airplane!.

Re: Movies that REALLY stand the test of time.
 

Tron is without a doubt the worst movie I have ever seen inside a movie theater. If I hadn't been with other people and had no other way home I would have walked out.

On the other hand:

(10 movies all over 50 years old):

The Maltese Falcon
M
Stagecoach
Battleship Potempkin
Gold Rush
City Lights
Modern Times
La Ladri di Biciclette/Bicycle Thieves
Grand Illusion
Rules of the Game

oh, and one more:

CITIZEN KANE

Many an hour of my life has been spent mindlessly quoting Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Re: Movies that REALLY stand the test of time.
 

Tron's vision of computer technology as anthropomorphic programs running around in cyberspace certainly fails the test of time (in addition to the test of logic). Not to say that I don't like the film....

DJ

Most movies that are on the AFI top 100.

JAWS

(well, except for that ugly anchor suit that Mayor Vaugh was wearing)

The Godfather
Star Wars
Gone With the Wind
Citizen Kane
Psycho
Rear Window
It's a Wonderful Life
A Christmas Story

Re: Re: Movies that REALLY stand the test of time.
 

Tron's about a guy who gets zapped into a computer program, and we're talking about logic. :) C'mon, users... suspend some disbelief. ;)

Spartacus comes to mind for me.

Hm... in fact... *pops Spartacus into DVD player*

Re: Re: Re: Movies that REALLY stand the test of time.
 

I do suspend disbelief. I don't, however, suspend my lack of being retarded. :)

Like I said, I enjoyed the movie. Still, much of it just makes me cringe.

DJ

<b>A Clockwork Orange</b>

Watched it just the other night, and I swear this movie becomes more relevant as time passes.

<b>8 1/2 </b>

Another timeless movie.


There are many many many many many many many more that I can neither think of nor am I inclined to think of at the moment.

Citizen Kane
The Godfather 1 and 2
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Rocky (I agree, don't listen to what the other guys are saying in the boards, it's there own opinion about the movie and it's definitely a cult classic)
Tron (See the Rocky comment above)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail

To stand the test of time means that even after its technology is obsolete, its ideas have been proved wrong, and its message means something else, it's still a pretty good flick :D Being dated does not a bad film make.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. People today are no different from the people who lived before us. Many movies from the past focus on universal themes, and because of this they remain as relevant today as they were when they were filmed.

Citizen Kane (1941) - Thirst for power.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - Corruption in politics.
Gone with the Wind (1939) - A woman's struggles to make her own way in a man's world.
Frankenstein (1931) - Man's quest to conquer nature.
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) - Man's generosity and/or indifference toward his fellow man.
Sullivan's Travels (1942) - Are movies "Entertainment" or "Art"?
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - One person can make a difference.

This list could go on and on. I recently watched Buster Keaton's Our Hospitality (1923), in one scene his character tries to intervene in a domestic dispute, only to have the battered wife start beating on him for fighting her husband (which is the very reason cops today hate to get involved in domestic disturbances).

GatorDeb, your statement that "Being dated does not a bad film make," is exactly right. The technology, slang, and fashions may have changed, but the situations and emotions of the characters are constant. Why else would Hollywood keep making new adaptations of Shakespeare's plays and filming remakes of classic movies?

I'm glad I'm the first one to mention

Superman: The Movie - Still the benchmark when it comes to comic book films.

Another vote for The Sound of Music. Can't help but sit through the whole thing everytime.

Psycho
Vertigo
Seven Samurai
Citizen Kane

Could go on and on. Sort of a pointless exercise though since there are literally hundreds and hundreds of established classics. I hear that some stores even have a special section for classics these days.